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CFPB RIN: 3170-AB15 Publication ID: Spring 2024 
Title: Credit Card Penalty Fees  
Abstract:

Section 149 of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 is implemented in part in Regulation Z, section 1026.52(b). Currently, under Regulation Z, section 1026.52(b)(1), a card issuer must not impose a fee for violating the terms or other requirements of a credit card account, including a late payment, unless the issuer has determined that the dollar amount of the fee represents a reasonable proportion of the total costs incurred by the issuer for that type of violation consistent with section 1026.52(b)(1)(i) or complies with the safe harbor amounts consistent with section 1026.52(b)(1)(ii). On June 22, 2022, the CFPB issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking information from credit card issuers, consumer groups, and the public regarding credit card late fees and late payments, and card issuers’ revenue and expenses. On February 1, 2023, the CFPB proposed to (1) adjust the safe harbor dollar amount for late fees to $8 and eliminate a higher safe harbor dollar amount for late fees for subsequent violations of the same type; (2) provide that the current provision that provides for annual inflation adjustments for the safe harbor dollar amounts would not apply to the late fee safe harbor amount; and (3) provide that late fee amounts must not exceed 25 percent of the required minimum payment. In March 2024, the CFPB amended Regulation Z to address late fees charged by card issuers that together with their affiliates have one million or more open credit card accounts (referred to as "Larger Card Issuers”). For Larger Card Issuers, the final rule (1) adopted a late fee safe harbor threshold of $8 and eliminated a higher safe harbor dollar amount for late fees for subsequent violations of the same type; and (2) provided that the annual inflation adjustments do not apply to this $8 amount.

 
Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Completed Actions 
Major: Yes  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 12 CFR 1026   
Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
ANPRM  06/29/2022  87 FR 38679   
ANPRM Comment Period End  08/01/2022 
NPRM  03/29/2023  88 FR 18906   
NPRM Comment Period End  05/03/2023 
Final Rule  03/15/2024  89 FR 19128   
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: Federal, Local, State, Tribal 
Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Krista Ayoub
Office of Regulations
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Washington, DC 20552
Phone:202 435-7700